Cooper Stadium demolition: More of Clippers' former home could be razed

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- More pieces of the former home of the Columbus Clippers are proposed for demolition.

For decades, the Clippers played out of Cooper Stadium before moving to the Arena District's Huntington Park in 2008. Vacant since its closure more than 15 years ago, much of the stadium's grandstand was demolished in April 2014. More of the structure on West Mound Street may soon face demolition.

A building application submitted by Lion Construction Services to Columbus showed plans for the razing project. The application indicates it's a $250,000 job.

The project includes the demolition of accessory structures at Cooper Stadium. Those include the removal of lower tiers of steps in the stadium's seating, existing fencing, stairs and stair treads, ramp slabs, structures separate from the stadium, existing interior construction, exterior metal panels, and several walls to slab-on-grade.

However, parts would remain intact. The proposal said the remaining primary stadium structure -- which includes all concrete, concrete floors, bearing walls, stadium grandstands' structural steel framing, and bleacher structural steel framing -- would not be taken down.

The Cooper Stadium property was sold by Franklin County in 2012 to SPARC Holding, whose parent company is Arshot Investment. A project by the group to turn the stadium into a racetrack and automotive center fell through.

After that proposal, Columbus City Council approved rezoning the 47-acre lot to make way for mixed-use buildings, apartments and an outdoor event space at an October 2023 meeting. At the time, residents expressed hope for the plan.

Lion Construction could not be reached for comment about the project or plans for the site.

Dating to 1932, Cooper Stadium was originally named Red Bird Stadium. In addition to the Clippers, it has been home to multiple baseball teams, including the Columbus Red Birds, the Negro League Columbus Blue Birds, and the Columbus Jets.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt jumpstarted his first presidential campaign in the stadium in 1932, Columbus Landmarks said in its 2017 Most Endangered Sites list. Recently, the nonprofit released its 2024 Most Endangered Sites list, which included the former Spaghetti Warehouse building.